The Characterisation of Marton Moss SUMMARY 1. Character Area 1 (The Mosslands) consists of the areas of small piecemeal post medieval enclosure along Division Lane, Midgeland Road up to Chapel Road and west to Common Edge Road, surrounding by busy arterial routes. It consists of the earliest cobbled buildings through to modern detached bungalows. Within the busy communication infrastructure it is an enclosed leafy landscape based around lanes, rectangular fields and drains with views limited to gaps in hedgerows across open paddocks. Any future development within this character area has the opportunity to be creative while exploring the use of red brick, ridge tiles, bargeboarding and a similar scale to fit in with traditional styles, or it has the opportunity to create a new vernacular for the mossland built from sustainable materials and energy sources in the way that development in this area started in the 18th century with locally available materials. There are means to absorb development into the area whilst retaining many of its essential characteristics i.e., by keeping the main infrastructure of quiet lanes, drains and hedgerows and by retaining the overall field pattern and some open space. In either case the original field boundaries should be retained as a link with the past, as wildlife corridors and as a way of softening the effects of development. This will create challenges in terms of highways requirements if the rural character is to be maintained. 2. Character Area 2 (Walkers Hill) consists of an area of Ancient Enclosure with some amalgamation around Runnells Farm in the north west. This landscape also has some old historic buildings, but this is combined with some degradation and traffic noise from the adjacent Yeadon Way. Although the building stock is much degraded historically, the modern exteriors may mask earlier building fabric. They should therefore be recorded with historic analysis carried out prior to development decisions being made; this will help to identify what features should be retained. This may also require some historic building recording during works so that intrusive recording can take place and provision has been made for this in PPGs 15 and 16.This area is also of high archaeological potential and therefore any development proposals should be accompanied by a desk based assessment and if necessary and archaeological evaluation exploring this further. 3. Character Area 3 is a featureless area of modern enclosure around Wild Lane which has been rationalised into larger fields. It is largely devoid of settlement and is marred by tall pylons. As a landscape which has undergone significant recent change it has the capacity to withstand further change, although this will result in a change of character. It offers the opportunity for high quality design and the possibility of creating a new vernacular and local distinctiveness. Archaeo-Environment Ltd, June 2009 for Blackpool Council 2 The Characterisation of Marton Moss 4. Character Area 4 (Cropper Road) is an area of post medieval planned enclosure and modern enclosure with a mixture of open and enclosed views. It is suffering from the creep of light industrial units and encroaching busy roads. It is still semi-rural in most places and the retention of the leafy lanes and hedgerows where they exist, will limit the impact of development. 5. Character Area 5 (Moss Lane) is a small plot of land now divorced from the rest of the study area by the rerouting of Common Edge Road. It contains no buildings but does include the former Moss Lane. The retention of hedgerows will help to protect any future development from noise pollution and soften the impact of development, but the old Moss Land should be retained as a quiet lane or bridleway. Many of the buildings in all character areas have suffered through the inappropriate replacement of windows and doors and in some cases, new renders and elevation treatments. However a number of buildings have also been tentatively identified for inclusion in the local list as well as recommendations on the significance of each building type. Recommendations have also been made to continue the tradition of using sustainable local materials and local energy wherever possible. Archaeo-Environment Ltd, June 2009 for Blackpool Council 3 Figure 1. Character Areas defined by historic landscape and built heritage Contents Acknowledgements 7 Introduction 8 Methodology 10 The Historic Environment and Regeneration 10 Geology 11 Historic Development of the Mosslands 11 Wider Landscape Setting 27 Historic Landscape Character 27 The Historic Landscape in Context 37 The Significance of the Historic Landscape Character 42 The Character of the Built Environment 44 The Significance of the Built Environment 52 Character Areas 55 Maintaining, Enhancing or Creating Local Distinctiveness 75 Bibliography 79 Appendix A The national significance of historic buildings and the local list 81 Appendix B Historic roads, road names and place names 90 Appendix C HER location plan 91 List of Figures Figure 1. Character Areas defined by historic landscape and built heritage Figure 2. The Study Area Figure 3. 1532 map of the area (taken from LUAU 1995, 53 and after Winchester). Figure 4. Detail of the mosslands around Midgeland taken from a survey dating to 1700 (LRO DDC1/685). Figure 5. Yates’ map of 1786 Figure 6. Hennet’s map surveyed in 1828/9 The Characterisation of Marton Moss Figure 7. Detail of the Tithe Map for Marton dating to 1839 Figure 8. Land east of Midgeland Road (known as Midgeland Lane at the time) has had the present day landscape character since 1839 when the Tithe Map was surveyed. Figure 9. The 1st edition Ordnance Survey map dating to 1844 Figure 10. The 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map dating to 1891 Figure 11. The 3rd edition OS map dating to 1911-12 Figure 12. Historic Landscape Character Figure 13. Runnell Farm and its historic landscape pattern from 1847 to 1912 showing curvilinear field boundaries along Dale Bank and around the farm. Figure 14. Midgeland Farm from 1841 to 1912. Figure 15. The distribution of lowland mosses and grassland scrub in the county (taken from HLC) Figure 16. Map taken from the HLC programme showing the degree of boundary loss in the county (red being the areas of greatest loss) Figure 17. Detail of a map dating to 1700. Figure 18. Character Areas based on the historic built environment and the historic landscape character Figure 192. Location plan of listed buildings Figure 20. Location map showing Historic Environment Record sites Archaeo-Environment Ltd, June 2009 for Blackpool Council 6 The Characterisation of Marton Moss Acknowledgements This report has relied on research carried out by individuals and organisations who have made their knowledge publicly available. We are particularly grateful to Lancashire County Council for making their Historic Environment Record and Historic Landscape Characterisation data freely available as part of their service level agreement with Blackpool Council. Tony Sharky in the local history library in Blackpool was especially helpful and we have made much use of Nick Moore’s work on the development of Blackpool. We are indebted to the staff at the Lancashire Records Office in Preston for making the tithe maps, enclosure awards and surveys available. The plans have been produced by Andrew Miles of Blackpool Council who has been cheerful and efficient throughout. We are also indebted to Carl Carrington, Douglas Cooper and Graham Page of Blackpool Council for commissioning the work and offering valuable comments and corrections. In particular we are grateful to the many people who stopped us in the streets to enthuse about the area and tell us about their local history while allowing us to photograph their homes. Report author: Caroline Hardie, AE Fieldwork: Caroline Hardie and Niall Hammond, AE Mapping: Andrew Miles, Blackpool Council and Peter Iles, Lancashire County Council Archaeo-Environment Ltd, June 2009 for Blackpool Council 7 The Characterisation of Marton Moss Introduction This report has been commissioned in order to inform the planning process and decision making about where and how new development should be accommodated within the Marton Moss area. This report specifically deals with the historic environment and incorporates the following: 1. A précis of the historic development of Marton Moss and its component areas in terms of land use, social history, landscape and built development; 2. A description of the current character and characteristics of Marton Moss and its component areas in terms of its historical development and its natural and built environment; 3. A detailed characterisation assessment of the landscape value of Marton Moss and its component areas in a Blackpool and Fylde context; 4. A detailed characterisation assessment of the built environment of Marton Moss and its component areas in a local and national context; 5. Recommendations on the built or landscape characteristics of Marton Moss and its component areas that should be safeguarded or strengthened through any development of the area; 6. Recommendations on the potential for statutory or local designations (if any) for built or natural environmental features within Marton Moss. Archaeo-Environment Ltd, June 2009 for Blackpool Council 8 The Characterisation of Marton Moss Figure 2. The Study Area Archaeo-Environment Ltd, June 2009 for Blackpool Council 9 The Characterisation of Marton Moss Methodology In order to understand the value of the present day character of the landscape it is important to understand how it evolved into the modern landscape. In order to do this, historic mapping, archival material, aerial photographs and secondary sources on local history have been examined in order to produce an account of the evolution of the landscape in the Marton Moss area. Rapid site visits were then carried out examining field boundary types, local buildings, street patterns and street furniture and the small historic details which contribute so much to character.